Pempek finishes fifth in national event

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Sports Editor

More than a dozen athletes from the Mat-Su area competed in the Reno Tournament of Champions wrestling tournament in Reno, Nev., Dec. 20-21.

Of the 15 grapplers from Palmer, Wasilla, Colony and Houston high schools, Wasilla junior Trevor Pempek scored the top finish, placing fifth in the 152-pound division.

Pempek, the top-ranked wrestler in the 152-pound class in the state of Alaska, finished 5-1 in the two-day event. Pempek won his first two matches in the championship bracket, but finished one match shy of the quarterfinals of the 64-man bracket with a tough 3-2 loss to Jayson Jackson, of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Earlier that day, Pempek defeated a Region III rival to advance. Pempek scored a 3-1 win over Skyview's Clark Buffington. Pempek defeated Kyle Hershey, of Easton, Pa., 11-0 in the first round of the tournament.

In the consolation bracket, Pempek scored a pair of wins before defeating Willy Pendleton, of Lemore, Calif., to claim fifth-place in the class.

Colony High School junior Dustin Killian was the only athlete from the Valley to advance to the semifinals in the tournament. Killian won his first three matches by decision and his fourth by major decision in the championship bracket of the 119-pound class, but was pinned by top seed and eventual champion Vincent Varela, of Rio Rancho, N.M., in the semifinals. Killian finished at sixth place after falling to Brad Gentzle, of Easton, Pa., in the fourth-place match.

Alan Bartelli, Cesar Berrera, Duane Carpenter, Mike Trudeau, Chuck Carpenter and Jake Wade of Wasilla; Andrew Van Asdol, Hollan Gravely, Dominick Bellotte and James Savage of Colony; and Dan Harvey of Houston each won multiple matches in the tournament.

At 103 pounds, Bartelli pinned his first opponent and won a match by decision in both the championship and consolation brackets. Barrera (130) won his first two matches in the championship bracket. Duane Carpenter (135) finished 3-2, winning three matches by pin. At 145, Trudeau won a match in the championship bracket and a pair of bouts in the consolation bracket. At 160, Chuck Carpenter won his first two matches of the championship bracket by pin. Harvey (171) finished 4-2, winning two matches in the championship bracket and two matches in the consolation bracket. Wade (171) and Bellotte (215) each won their first two matches in the championship bracket. Savage won his first three matches in the championship bracket and finished one match shy of the quarterfinals. The Colony heavyweight was pinned by eventual runner-up Dustin Finn, of Westmore, Okla.

Several Alaska schools were represented in the event. In addition to the Valley programs, schools such as Bartlett, Skyview and Kotzebue also sent grapplers. Skyview's Eli Hutchinson had the best finish of any wrestler hailing from Alaska, placing fourth at 130. Bartlett's Shane Manuel finished sixth at 135.

Alaska is building a tradition of sending quality wrestlers to the Reno Tournament, recognized as one of the top prep wrestling events in the nation. Last year former Wasilla standout Jed Wade won the 189-pound bracket.